Tendinopathy (A Combination of Tendonitis and Tendinosis)

What is Tendinopathy?

Inflammation is not the most common cause of tendon pain. Rather, many small (micro) tears in the connective tissue around the tendon is the more common cause of tendon pain; this condition is sometimes termed as tendinosis. Note that we are not including tendon tears or ruptures - they are another matter altogether! Tendinopathy is becoming the term more commonly used by experts to describe tendonitis (inflammation) and tendinosis (small tears in surrounding tissue) together, as it is common for both conditions to occur collectively.

Causes and Treatment for Tendinopathy

Overuse and repeated movements (RSI), sudden injuries, slow degeneration or just aging can all cause tendinopathy. Remember that healing is slow, and proper recovery is important to get your tendon back to proper health and avoid reinjury. Ultrasound treatment is quickly becoming very popular for treating this problem, as results have been very positive as long as the patient (1) keeps the area inactive throughout the healing process and (2) sticks to the treatment properly until healing has completed.

Ultrasound is great for tendonitis because the patient can treat themselves continuously without delay, as would happen if they went to a therapist for all their ultrasound treatments.

Patients with chronic tendonitis are instructed to avoid activities that aggravate the condition, as the tendon will not heal properly if it is constantly stressed through overuse. Occasionally, physicians performed surgery on patients or gave them injections of corticosteroids, but this is invasive and is a method of last resort.